Behold my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased

After Christ was hung on the cross, after the earthquakes, and the three days of darkness the people of Nephi who were left alive heard a voice from heaven. They could not understand it at first, but after the third time they did understand.

“Behold my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, in whom I have glorified my name - hear ye him…they saw a man descending out of heaven and he was clothed in a white robe, and he came down and stood in the mist of them…”He stretched froth his hand and spake unto the people saying, Behold, I am Jesus Christ, whom the prophets testified shall com into the world. And behold I am the light and the life of the world; and I have drunk out of that bitter cup which the Gather hath given me, and have glorified the Father in taking upon me the sins of the world in which I have suffered the will of the Father in all things from the beginning. And it came to pass… the whole multitude fell to the earth.

Can you just imagine being there? How great, glorious, humbling, and scary that would have been?

I am Alpha and Omega

Christ said, “I am the light and the life of the world. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.” (2 Nephi 9:18)  Behold I have come unto the world to bring redemption unto the world to save the world from sin. (3 Nephi 9:21)

That I may heal you

“O all of ye that were spared because ye were more righteous than they will ye not now return unto me and repent of your sins and be converted that I may heal you.” (3 Nephi 9:13)

This is after the three days of darkness when Christ spoke to the people who remained after the earthquakes and fires. What I get out of this is that Christ wants to heal us. He wants to save us, but he cannot help us unless we want it. He says, “As many as have received me, to them have I given to become the sons of God. And even so will I to as many as shall believe on my name, for behold, by me redemption cometh…” (3 Nephi 9:17)

We have to be trying and do our very best. When Christ came and made the final sacrifice of his life and overcame death and rose again on the third day he did away with the blood sacrifices and the burnt offerings. He said, “I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings, and ye shall offer for a sacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit… Therefore, whoso repenteth and cometh unto me as a little child, him will I receive, for of such is the kingdom of God. Behold for such I have laid down my life, and have taken it up again; therefore repent, and come unto me ye ends of the earth and be saved.”  (3 Nephi 9:22)   

The Plan of Mercy

The Plan of Mercy.

“And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made, therefore God himself atoned for the sins of the world to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justices, that God  might be a perfect and just God, and a merciful God.” (Alma 42:16)   

God sent us here to mortality and except that he provided a way for us to repent, and become clean we would not be able to return to our heavenly home. A perfect, just and merciful God had to provide a way for our return. He gave his only begotten Son to make that atonement. I am certain that Christ felt every ill thought, every misdeed, every pain any of us ever felt. I am just as certain that God feels those as well and pleads for our repentance. I am so grateful for the plan of Mercy.       

The grave shall have no victory and the sting of death should be swallowed up...

Aaron the son of Alma while on his mission to the Lamanites taught King Lamoni the plan of redemption. Most likely if we are part of the so called Christian world we are familiar with this plan.

Aaron says, “Since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself, but the suffering and death of Christ atoned for their sins through faith and repentance and so forth, and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in hopes of glory.” (Alma 22:14)

This statement of course is only the synopsis of the Bible and the Book of Mormon. It only hints at the love and mercies of our Father in Heaven who gave his only begotten Son as a sacrifice to bring all who will come, back to him.

Helaman says it so beautifully. “Ye thus we may see that the Lord is merciful unto all who will in the sincerity of their hearts call upon his Holy name. Yea we see that the gate to heaven is open to all, even to those who will believe on Jesus Christ who is the Son of God.” (Helaman 3:26-27)     

Have ye experienced a change of heart?

“And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love. I would ask, can ye feel so now?” (Alma 5: 26)

Alma goes on to talk about keeping ourselves blameless before God. He says have ye been sufficiently humbled before God?  Are you stripped of pride? He warns us to prepare quickly because we know not how much time we have. At any moment we may be called upon to die and what will we do then. The chance to repent is over.

Repentance must be a daily thing or we slip too far away and cannot find our way back. He calls upon us to hasten to repent. All of us slide a little and sometimes we get further away than we intend. Alma says, “And now if ye are not the sheep of the good shepherd, of what fold are ye? Behold I say unto you, that the devil is your shepherd.” (Alma 5:39)  It is one or the other and often we are not aware of the moment when we slip over that line.